This Something
by Bluefeathermuse
Summary: "I should tell you, I'm disaster." A place to dump all of my drabbles for August 2017's KakaSaku Month!


**Quick Info~**

It's the most wonderful time of the yeeeeaaaar. KakaSaku month! If you guys don't know what this is, want to know where to find the prompts, or want to take part in it, just check out the KakaSakuMonth tag on tumblr. The more the merrier!

Anyway, this is my first contribution for this month. Hopefully I'll get out at least three more drabbles (one for each week), so feel free to follow this if you like it!

It's purely self indulgent and is drowning in tropes, but I hope you guys enjoy it anyway. Lots of Kakashi being a dork because, let's face it, if he can't even muster up the courage to read a line from _Icha Icha_ , how is he supposed to be some master of romance?

As always, let me know what you think :)

* * *

 **Prompts: Mission Report and Yukata/Kimono**

A chorus of exasperated Tsunade-sighs are the only sound anyone within a mile radius of Hokage Tower dare to make. A stack of successfully completed mission reports are piled mountain-high on top of her desk, but she is instead forced to read the single most bizarre, and slightly erotic, mission briefing she has ever laid eyes on.

"Jonin-level missions had to be looked over by the Hokage," she had said when she first took the position. "It is the only way to ensure that the most elite, respectable ninja in the village are completing tasks designed for their skill levels."

If she did not have so much pride, she supposes that the only one to blame for the strange romantic comedy she is currently trying to stomach is herself. No one to blame but herself _and_ Kakashi Hatake and Sakura Haruno, of course.

Kakashi's chicken scratch starts the report the same way he begins every report: "I first decided to take a leisurely stroll by the Inuzuka compound."

The second sentence varies slightly off-topic, but because Tsunade is still in a relatively good mood at this point, she manages to smile.

Kakashi writes, "Having decided that I should not keep my particular mission partner waiting, I only pet four dogs this time."

A hot pink pen crosses out the word "four" and replaces it with, "he was covered in so much fur, I bet the entire pack attacked him!" in pretty, bubbly letters (courtesy of Sakura).

Tsunade takes a deep breath and lets out the first of many sighs before continuing…

* * *

"You could at least take me _with_ you to see the puppies instead of making me stand out here in the hot sun like an idiot," Sakura huffs.

"I can assure you that a grown man leaning over a fence to pet dogs is a much more idiotic sight," Kakashi says.

"Then while you were off shamelessly being an idiot, I used your absence to come up with a plan for this mission," Sakura says.

Kakashi gives Sakura his signature eye-crinkle smile, followed by a very annoying, yet so very Kakashi, hair-ruffling. Sakura bats his hand away, trying to scowl at him but unable to keep the tiniest hint of a grin off of her face.

"It seems my absence only bettered the mission. You should _thank_ me," Kakashi teases.

Sakura snorts, but chooses to at least verbally ignore his quip. She instead fishes around her pack for two red ticket stubs. Kakashi squints curiously as Sakura holds them out for him to grab.

"I know it's going to be weird, but just hear me out," she begins. "We know that the Rogue Nin is currently hiding in a village bordering the Leaf and Grass, right?"

Kakashi nods slowly, one hand on his chin in thought, as a small part of him begins to grapple with the fact that he is in awe, too. All of his former students have grown up before his eyes, yet there is something about Sakura that seems disconnected from Naruto and Sasuke. He shakes his head, knowing that paying attention to the mission briefing is about as important as avoiding getting walloped over the head for _not_ paying attention to the mission briefing.

"It just so happens," Sakura continues, "that this particular village is holding their annual Summer Festival."

"And these tickets are for the festival," Kakashi says.

"Exactly," Sakura says.

Kakashi stares at the tickets for a long time and Sakura watches as his brow furrows. Then, he stuffs his hands into his pockets and shrugs before saying, "That doesn't seem weird to me."

Sakura's gaze drops to the ground and she digs the tip of her shoe into the dirt. She can feel the blush creeping up on her cheeks, burning with how very, very _wrong_ the plan she concocted is. But they do not have a choice. The mission needs to be completed and if this is the way that it has to be done, then so be it. They are both adults, after all.

"The weird part is actually that, umm, it's a special kind of festival," Sakura says.

"Oh?" Kakashi quirks a brow.

"Yeah. Umm, it's one typically popular for, err, _couples_." She mutters the last word so quietly that Kakashi is not sure she even said anything at first.

Kakashi's eyes widen and Sakura sees him visibly thinking through the situation. On the one hand, it is unlikely that anyone will recognize them in that other village, so it will not matter much if they go as a couple. On the other hand, going as a couple means doing couple things…things like holding hands and hugging and maybe even _kissing._

Kakashi clears his throat and holds out his arm for Sakura. "Duty calls, right?" he asks, shooting her a sly glance out of the corner of his eye.

Sakura shakes her head and swallows the sudden blush creeping up on her cheeks. Kakashi is a dork by all definitions of the word, but he is also impeccable at creating different sorts of characters depending on what the mission calls for. Charisma is a part of him, just as much as being a dog-loving, porn-reading weirdo is.

"Duty calls," Sakura replies cheerily, grabbing his arm and pretending wholeheartedly that she does not like the way her stomach is suddenly alive with butterflies.

* * *

Despite the size of the village, the festival is actually quite grand. Lanterns with beautiful, hand painted flowers flutter in the breeze, bathing the festival boundary lines in whimsical light. Booths with different types of games are scattered around the venue — ring toss, pie throwing, even a kissing booth. There is even a different food stall every time Sakura and Kakashi blink.

"I'm going to change," Sakura whispers to Kakashi.

He nods. "We'll meet back here when we're done."

Sakura cannot help but wonder if the Yukatas she chose for them are _too_ couple-y. Hers is a pretty pale green, with cherry blossoms blooming up her waist and chest. Kakashi's is similar, although it has a distinct lack of flowers.

She emerges from the dressing room, trying not to stumble over her Yukata. It has been awhile since she's worn anything besides ninja gear or her hospital uniform. And part of her — a small, tiny, absolutely _miniscule_ part she dare not let Kakashi know about — hopes that he thinks she looks pretty. Pining after Sasuke for so long drove away most of the eligible men in the village and it has been longer than she cares to admit since she has been on a proper date.

When Kakashi finally sees her, she watches his expression change from lackadaisical to something resembling some sort of constipation. His book closes with a loud _snap_ and the visible part of his face contorts into a grimace.

Sakura suddenly feels very self conscious and very, very shy. She tucks one strand of hair behind her ear and smiles.

"Speechless?" she asks.

He recovers quickly, smiling and reaching out to ruffle her hair, and earning a well-deserved frown in response.

"Let's just go," she grumbles.

Why should she have expected him to say anything? She probably still looks like a little girl to him. But before she can stalk away from him, he grabs her hand.

"Hey. You look great," he says, eyes planted firmly on the ground.

The blush creeping up above his mask makes Sakura's cheeks burn in response. She nudges him playfully, trying to knock the nervous tension out of both of them.

"Shall we?" she asks, lacing her fingers with his.

He nods, taking his forehead protector off and running his hands through his unruly, skyscraper mass of hair.

As the pair enter the festival grounds, Kakashi cannot seem to keep the awkward blush off of his face. Men of all ages, even ones who are quite obviously married, are staring at Sakura like she is some sort of foreign goddess. She is definitely the only one in the vicinity with hair as pink as a sunset sky, and Kakashi supposes she does look radiant in her Yukata.

"I must look invisible next to you," he murmurs.

Sakura lets out a tiny giggle. "Yeah, right," she says. "Have you seen the way the girls are staring at you? You might as well be a piece of meat."

Kakashi makes some sort of surprised, almost choking sound.

"You seriously have no clue how handsome you are," she says, and although the compliment is supposed to sound offhanded, he can't help but feel a swirl of happiness curl up in his stomach.

"Flowers! Fresh flowers for fabulous females! Just get the ball in one of these yellow cups and any flower is yours!" A vendor is shouting near the end of the line of booths.

Kakashi tugs on Sakura's hand, leading her down the line. She audibly gasps when she sees the booth. She thinks that there must be a flower of every variety and that Ino would surely be jealous if she saw it.

"I knew you had a good eye," the vendor says. "Whaddya say? Care to play? It's three balls for 200 ryo."

"Let's try it," Kakashi says, turning to Sakura and smiling with a mischief that she has not seen in ages.

"Aren't these usually rigged?" Sakura asks.

"Maybe for civilians," Kakashi says and he winks.

Kakashi Hatake actually _winks_ at her. She smiles, knowing that someone who spent years known as the Copy Ninja of Konoha and the Man of Over One Thousand Jutsus would not possibly lose to —

"Two more chances!" the vendor says enthusiastically as the first ball plops lamely on the ground.

Sakura's smile falters and Kakashi chuckles in embarrassment.

"Just warming up," Kakashi says.

"You got this," Sakura says, and quickly remembering that this supposed to be a date she adds, "honey!"

The moment the word leaves her mouth, Kakashi's wrist twitches and the second ball lands over at the booth beside them. He smiles sheepishly at the vendor and Sakura bows apologetically.

"Would you like to add one more ball for—" the vendor starts.

"No thank you," Kakashi says, and turning to Sakura he adds, "Which flower you like… _sweetheart?_ "

It is now Sakura's turn to nearly choke. He is smiling innocently at her, but the look is _too_ fake, so she walks over to him and rests her head against his shoulder, fingers lacing with his once again.

"You know what I like," she says.

It is a challenge, and just like all of the Springtime of Youth prompts from Gai, Kakashi cannot refuse this, either. He takes a deep breath, asks for strength from whichever deity will listen, and throws.

It feels like the ball is falling in slow motion. The vendor's mouth opens inch by inch the closer that the ball gets to the yellow cups in the middle. Sakura looks like she might be ready to scream, but Kakashi cannot focus on anything except making sure that the ball gets into the cup. Without even touching the rim of the cup, the ball sinks straight through the middle.

Sakura yelps in delight, hanging off of Kakashi's sleeve and the vendor shakes his head, pocketing the ryo.

"Congratulations," the vendor says. "Now, which flower would your beautiful lady like?"

Sakura eyes Kakashi curiously. While she has never blatantly told him her favorite, she is sure that she has mentioned it out loud at least once in his general proximity.

"The daisy," Kakashi says, pointing to the bright yellow flower in the middle of the booth.

"Good eye," the vendor says.

He hands it to Kakashi, who swiftly turns to Sakura and says, "For you, my love."

He tucks the stem behind Sakura's ear and makes no effort to be discreet about the way his fingers brush across her cheek on the way back. She reaches up to touch the petals gently and she smiles.

"Thank you," Sakura calls to the vendor. Once he is out of earshot, she adds, "How did you know that was my favorite?"

"Lucky guess." Kakashi shrugs. "And you have them in the window in your living room."

"Observant," she says, and she beams a smile at him that is so bright he feels his stomach drop again.

"We should probably look for the rogue nin," Kakashi says, clearing his throat.

He is suddenly all too aware of how soft her hand feels in his. All too aware of how she occasionally brushes against his arm while they are walking. All too aware of just how real this can feel. And how nice it _does_ feel.

"Yeah," Sakura says. "But it wouldn't hurt to get something to eat first, right?"

Kakashi nods, realizing that he is actually pretty hungry.

"Since you surprised me with the flower, it's my turn to surprise you!" Sakura says.

Kakashi lets her lead the way. They weave through booths and people seamlessly, like this is not the first time they have ever held hands. But he does not have much time to dwell on it because of the heavenly aroma that suddenly invades his nostrils.

The smell hits Kakashi before he sees the source and his mouth waters instantaneously. A broiled fish stand is before them like the golden gates of Heaven. Sakura turns with a smug smile on her face to Kakashi, who looks as though he is about to melt into a puddle right then and there.

"You're not the only one who pays attention," she says.

"Man, I got lucky," Kakashi murmurs.

With enough broiled saury on a stick to keep both of Kakashi's hands full, the pair continue their way towards a bench to eat. It has been a long time since Sakura has seen Kakashi so carefree. With Tsunade retiring soon and the Kage position basically lingering over his head like a dark cloud of responsibility and paperwork, Kakashi has had little time to do anything that he loves. And seeing him smile like that, a _real_ smile, makes Sakura feel strangely warm.

"So according to the intel we got in the briefing—" Sakura begins quietly.

Her body is shifted towards Kakashi and she is smiling like she is telling him the deepest, most romantic part of her soul. If anyone sees them, it will look like simple flirting.

"—the ninja on the run is a tall guy, fairly lean, with brown hair that is usually tied up."

"Mmm," Kakashi manages to say despite half of an entire fish being in his mouth at any given moment.

"He also has a tattoo of a rose covering the back of his left hand," she says. "Conveniently easy to spot."

"Hmm."

"There is a contest going on later that has a huge cash reward. If he needs to get out of town fast, I think that's where he will be."

"Mmph."

"Are you even listening?"

Kakashi swallows and takes a deep gulp of air. "Sorry, Sakura. The plan sounds good."

She smiles satisfactorily to herself. It is nice to be the one calling the shots for a change. And Kakashi clearly respects her decisions, since he does not give a rat's ass about anything except eating.

"Ladies and gentleman! Boys and girls! Lovers of all ages! If you would like to participate in the dance competition for a huge cash prize, please make your way towards that big pole in the middle of the festival grounds." A voice over the loud speaker breaks the chatter in the air.

"This is it!" Sakura says, slapping Kakashi a little too hard on the back.

He chokes, pounding his chest and gasping for air, until the last chunk of fish dislodges itself from his throat.

"Sorry," Sakura says sheepishly.

"'S'all good," he says, taking a deep breath.

As soon as Kakashi has his bearings once again, he and Sakura make their way to the intricately decorated pole in the middle of the festival grounds. Couples are mingling around the dance floor, holding hands and laughing and looking so in love that Sakura cannot help but feel out of place.

"Are you alright?" Kakashi asks, noticing instantaneously when Sakura stiffens beside him.

"Yes!" she chirps, too quickly and too easily.

Kakashi squeezes her hand. "If it makes you feel better, this is my first date in a _long_ time," he murmurs.

"Really?"

"I'm old, remember?"

Sakura smiles and then looks him up and down before grabbing both of his hands and leading him towards the center of the dance floor. "Not _that_ old yet, sensei."

"The rules of the contest are simple," the judge begins. "Pick one partner to dance with, no sabotaging other couples, if you get tapped on the shoulder you're out. Last couple standing wins!"

"Ready?" Sakura asks, tentatively draping her arms around Kakashi's neck.

"Only if you promise not to step on my feet with all of your strength," he teases, hands resting just as tentatively on her hips.

"Well I _wasn't_ planning on it," she teases back.

And before they know it, the music starts to play. It is some sort of folk dance, with fiddles and flutes and banjos, and the carefree atmosphere of it all makes Sakura feel as though she is able to really _breathe_ for the first time that day. Kakashi is wide eyed and surprised at first, but Sakura loves this kind of thing, so she leads him. A series of spins, of fingertips barely touching, of ducking under and around and through. And one by one, couples are picked off and sent to the sidelines — some giggling like mad and others angrily shouting. But Sakura and Kakashi can't seem to hear anything except the music.

Sakura often thinks that many ninja movements are an awful lot like dancing, and she is not wrong. Kakashi is as graceful here as he is on the battlefield, and their movements are extremely similar to sparring. A jab here, and a spin there. And just as Sakura is about to completely lose herself in the music and in the atmosphere and in _him_ , he pulls her closer to whisper in her ear.

"I found our guy," he says. "Two o'clock, with the redhead."

Kakashi spins her away from his body and Sakura catches a glimmer of a forehead protector in the rogue nin's pocket.

"Lift me up and toss me towards him," Sakura instructs, knowing that she can get the perfect angle to catch him by surprise.

The music heightens in intensity as more couples are kicked off. Kakashi bends at the waist, ready to catch Sakura in a grand finale to the song and their mission. She runs and jumps, trusting with every fiber of her being that he is there to catch her. Strong hands grip onto her waist and she is flying. An audible gasp from the audience rumbles through the festival grounds.

"Okay, Kakashi-sensei, _now!_ " Sakura yells.

But before Kakashi can catapult her towards the rogue nin, the judge is hurrying over towards them with a trophy filled with cash.

"Stop! Stop! You win!" the judge says.

The rogue nin, having caught onto their little scheme, slips through the crowd and out of view.

"Marvelous dancing! Bravo!" the judge exclaims, pulling Sakura and Kakashi towards him in a warm embrace. "Here is your trophy and the cash."

"We're honored," Sakura says, "but we've really got to get going now."

Kakashi smiles, but his eyes are no longer in the moment. He is scanning every inch he can see of the festival grounds, no doubt tracking the rogue's pace in his mind.

"We have one final custom," the judge says, but Kakashi and Sakura are only half-listening at this point. "The winners typically give each other a kiss."

"Hmm?" Sakura asks, nearly choking.

"Oh," Kakashi says, eyes snapping back onto Sakura.

A hush falls over the crowd in anticipation. Sakura and Kakashi share a look, knowing that their cover need not be blown if they want to have any chance of catching up to their target. But _kissing?_

Before Sakura really has time to think it through, Kakashi has already closed the gap between them. He is staring at her intently, willing her to realize that everything is going to be okay. That this is all right and that maybe a small part of him wants it, too. So her eyes flutter closed and she feels his breath fan out across her cheeks. And with the gentlest of touches, he kisses her.

Although she does not want to oversell anything, she can't help the way her hands grip his flack jacket. And although he knows that the kiss should probably be short, his hands find themselves getting tangled up in her hair anyway.

And when they pull away from each other, Sakura is pink in the face where Kakashi is cherry red. The crowd cheers as he pulls her into a hug.

With the lightest of whispers, the kind that makes goose bumps crawl down the entire expanse of her body, Kakashi says, "Guess this is going to have to go in the mission report."

"Maybe it'll be good for Lady Tsunade to finally have some romance in her life," Sakura whispers back, earning a jovial chuckle from Kakashi and a newfound crush in the pit of her stomach.

* * *

"We caught him, though!" Sakura's writing reassures Tsunade at the end of the mission report.

"How or when does not really matter," Kakashi writes. "If you need more details, that's a story for another time."

Tsunade sets the paper down and glances out the window. She could be out having lunch with Shizune. She could be taking a stroll through the butterfly gardens or out trying her luck at the slot machines. But instead she is forced to swallow the fact that she more or less witnessed her beloved student fall for that perverted Hatake.

So she takes a deep breath, presses the red button on her desk and says, "Can someone please summon Kakashi Hatake and Sakura Haruno to my office?"

And as an ANBU guard responds to the Hokage's call, somewhere in Konoha Sakura and Kakashi are in the middle of properly finishing their first date.


End file.
